


Seeing Red

by Sariau



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Adventure Zone: Balance (Podcast)
Genre: Bonds, F/M, M/M, a bit of overwatch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-19 01:44:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13694286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sariau/pseuds/Sariau
Summary: What if Taako could see the Red String of Fate since he was a kid?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Weevilo707](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weevilo707/gifts).



“So how have you been doing, Taako?” A woman asks from her leather chair. Taako is lounging on a chaise, letting his eyes wander around the room. It fits the stereotype of a psychiatrist’s office. What with the grey walls and impersonal decorations lining the shelves.

“Pretty good. Work is soul-suckin, as usual. I haven’t gotten stuck too often.” Taako shows his most charming smile. Tulip writes a few notes, and Taako pretends that he can’t tell what she’s writing from the movement of the pen in her hand.

> _Recent improvement in fluidity of thoughts._

“And are you still seeing things? Those… strings?” Tulip looks back up at him from her notes.

Taako gives her a shrug. “I mean, yeah. They’re not hurting anything. I barely notice them these days.” He doesn’t give any indication of lying, but they still hold a moment of staring at each other before Tulip nods and starts writing again.

Taako closes his eyes before he can get an idea of what’s being put in his file. He forces his back to relax into the angle of the arm chair. It's almost to the point of being overstuffed, and surprisingly comfortable and non-squeaky. “So I met a really cute guy the other day.”

He can hear Tulip stop scratching her note, hears her lean forward in her leather chair.  “Really? How did that go?”

* * *

Taako knows he’s not where he’s supposed to be. There are strings tugging him one way then the other, and they feel like they are choking him with the way they swirl around his neck.

Taako hides the shape of his ears in his hair, checks his makeup in the mirror, and leaves, locking his door behind him. Outside his building, everything is swathed in white, pinks, and reds. Balloons and flowers decorate storefronts to attract more customers.

His shift is going to start soon, and Boss Man gives him free reign of the kitchen after hours if he’s on time. Which gives him the perfect set for his cooking channel on YouTube.

Oh yeah. Taako Taaco is internet famous.

Taako glances down, and lets his feet follow the fresh green roots to the high rise building. He pulls on his apron, doffs his chef hat to the owner, and lets his hands work on dish after dish.

Its methodical work, and he barely has to think as he sautés, purées, and flambés his works to be the best fucking thing those people out on the floor will ever stick into their mouth.

Taako almost cuts a finger off when his red string jerks his hand forward. He glares at the color, inwardly telling it to cool its jets, when he realizes it has swerved straight up.

What?

Taako reaches out to see if he can unwravel it a bit to see what’s got it so jumpy. It was how he knew he’s missing people, at least five. Two short, three his height. Then there’s the person tethered to his upper spine, just between his shoulder blades, pulling, pulling, always pulling. ‘Cha boi had to get a prescription just to keep up with the muscle spasms.

Anyways, the red spreads to show a glitter of light inside, and Taako peers into it.

Ravens, bones, tailored suits, and deep dark wine. Warmth and comfort. Refuge.

Well. If Taako didn’t already know that fairy tale about the red string of fate, he’d still know what this one meant. His soulmate is somewhere above.

And they didn’t do it the normal way, either. Whoever it is hadn’t taken the floors in between.

Taako checks his phone while cleaning up the drips of a plate to be brought out.

Eh, he can take a break now before the rush hits.

And he sure as hell believes in the supernatural. (Alright, maybe not so much as the show depicts, but the idea stands.) He can fuckin’ see strings and other differently shaped colors connecting everyone. He knows well enough that _that’s_ not normal.

Hell, he’s pretty sure he’s an-

An- -

An- - - -

\- - - - - - - -.

Damn, he got stuck again. And he’s been doing so well too.

Taako wipes down his station, tossing the dirty rag onto a rack, before calling out to the others. “Hey, I’m gonna walk for a bit.” The cooks wave or holler back, Taako gives a dramatic bow out the back door.

Taako takes the elevator higher and higher, keeping an eye on the red string at every floor. When he gets out at the top floor and the string is still pointing up, Taako rolls his eyes. The roof? As a first meeting? “Dramatic little fuck, aren’t you?” And yet, he’s still charmed by the cliché. He tugs at the string like its a lock of hair. Oh shit, he hopes they have hair-- or if they don’t, that’s fine too! They’d rock it, for sure!

He manages to find the stairwell to take him the final stretch. The door opens easily, and Taako spots the only other on the roof. A tall, thin figure in well-fitted clothes leaning against the railing with a wine glass in hand. Taako cants his head to the side to appreciate that butt.

Dayam! That’s some nice tush right there.

He _might_ have said that out loud. Whoops!

Well, it’s a memorable introduction, if nothing else.

The guy turns, and Taako barely feels the movement from the string on his pinky. He reminds himself to breathe. This guy is so hot that ‘cha boi is feeling faint.

Taako’s guy takes a deep look from top to bottom, and grins. “Is today my birthday?” The guy asks, but Taako is suddenly not getting good vibes from this dude. That fake as hell accent is giving him the heebie-jeebies.

Still. Running is pinging in the back of his mind as a bad idea. “I dunno babe, is Valentine’s your birthday?”

That seems to surprise the guy. “What?”

“Today’s Valentine’s Day. What, lose your phone under a rock or something?”

The guy blinks, and he doesn’t look as intimidating as he had a moment ago. “This isn’t some trick or distraction, is it?”

Taako can feel his hidden ears flick in his hair, but he ignores it. “Uh, no? You’re mighty handsome, and I’m calling dibs if you don’t have a Valentine.”

“I- _no_. I don’t have a Valentine.” The guy says, one hand reaching up to rub at the back of his neck.

“Sweet.” Taako bounces forward, tilting his chef hat back when it flops forward into his face. “Can I get a name, my dear sweet Valentine?”

“Kravitz.” The guy answers. He’s a bit fidgety once Taako gets close enough, like he doesn’t know what to do with himself. Aww, so precious.

“Charmed.” Taako holds out a hand to shake. “Taako Taaco. Now let’s get you a refill, and to better locale. We’re going on a date.”

“We are, are we?” Kravitz asks, but like in that way that not actually arguing. Yes!

Taako nods. “Hell yes we are. Come on.” He left a spare outfit in the back room, right? Was it the one with the sequins, or the lace on the back?

Kravitz chuckles as Taako tugs him back to the stairs to take the elevator back down, and Taako decides right then that he likes the sound.

* * *

It’s been a couple of months of spare moments and fewer dates before Taako asks his question. “So, what’s with that teleporting thing you do?” Because his string flickers erratically most of the time, then only jumps from one position to another around the time he visits.

Krav hums questioningly around a bite of steak. Taako is once again hit with the thought, _‘Oh no, he’s hot’_ but shakes it off after a moment of drinking in the sight of hotness. Like curing a hangover with a little wine the day after.

“The teleportation thing. One moment your one place, and then you’re off to somewhere completely different.” Taako lets his fingers twine with the red string, plucking at it idly. Krav doesn’t react, so he probably doesn’t feel it. “I mean, if you’ve got superpowers, and spend your days as a vigilante, I want to see you in your hero costume.” Hell, Taako would dig out the sewing machine and make his own to match to have something to give back.

Kravitz sputters, and Taako leans on his hands over the table. Between them, the candle lit for romantic purposes wobbles in its tall candelabra. Neither of them reach to steady it. It doesn't fall.

“Um.” Kravitz adjusts the tie of his suit. “I’m not a vigilante. I work for an entity to balance fundamental aspects of reality.”

“So you work for a league of superheroes.” Taako observes, just to see Krav struggle to find a balance between _yes_ and _no_. “What are these aspects, then?”

As deadpan as Taako has ever heard him, Kravitz answers. “Life and Death.”

Without a beat in between, Taako blurts, faux-casually. “So you’re a shinigami?”

“A what-now?”

The food is left forgotten as Taako tries to explain the plot of some string of playlists he had watched a few years ago. And leaves out the fact that it was abridged. Accidentally, of course.

“Oh. Reapers. Yes.” Kravitz says after the summary. “Not quite. I wasn’t aware how much those of this plane knew of the other planes.” He pauses, and Taako notices how awkward the line of his shoulders are. What’s got his guy so nervous? “I suppose I can show you.”

And the skin and muscles fade away, slowly, layer by layer. Taako can’t look away.

_Holy shit._

Kravitz reaches into the air, and pulls out a scythe as tall as he is. The look is complete, and Krav stands next to Taako’s dining room table with its little candle in the middle.

_That’s hot._

* * *

“So how are you doing Taako?” Tulip asks, and he grins.

“Great! Krav and I are going hiking this weekend, leaving all that tech and stress behind and get that good good fresh air.”

Tulip smiles at him. “Ah, yes. I think you mentioned that before? Your anniversary, right?” She looks very pleased, whether it is about how happy he is or that he’s taking the steps to unwind healthily,he doesn't know.

“Yup! We’re lucky Valentine’s is on a Saturday. I’d hate to miss our chats, Tulee.” And Krav has been teaching him magic~. Taako can say without a hint of a doubt, that his flair in the kitchen has increased exponentially.

Hard to imagine, given how amazing Taako was before, but it happened.

“Where are you planning on going?”

Taako perks up. “There’s a national reserve a couple hours away. We’ve set up our own things for the trip, and it’s going to be so romantic.” Not that they’ll ever make it to the reserve, given Kravitz mentioned a completely different destination in passing. But he’s not lying.

Just observing that there’s a reserve a good distance away, and known for being quite large and easily lost in.

* * *

Taako packs away a few of his things into his bag. An apron floating in from the kitchen to be snatched up and stowed away as well.

After the initial dubiousness of Kravitz trying to teach him magic. (Where eventually a thick tomb of leather-bound paper was dropped on his lap, and he bullheadedly struggled through it on his own.) It came pretty easily. Transfiguring, or Transmutation as the book called it, is the easiest. It’s also the most fun, considering the limitless opportunities.

Evocation was the runner-up, and yeah, that makes sense. Who wouldn’t want a giant ball of fire available at any time?

Still he has to finish packing up soon, since Homeboi is going to be picking him up soon.

Taako can’t wait.

* * *

Taako steps out of the portal first, peering around curiously. People, people who don’t look like people are walking around what looks like a Middle-Aged city.

Hell, the one that just walked by has curled horns and a tail! They had to be a tiefling.

This is so awesome.

Kravitz follows after, the portal closing behind him. He’s got his handsome face on, and boy does he look nice. “There.” He points over Taako’s shoulder to a woman with long brown hair. “Do you see her ears?”

Taako scoffs, “Of course I do. She’s an elf, right?” Those ears are a pretty big give away, afterall.

“And you have ears like her, right?” Taako has a feeling that Kravitz is trying to lead him to an answer. He wonders if he should play along. They've gone through things like this before, but they always end up with Taako forgetting the topic soon after. It's kind of annoying, and Taako hasn't made things easier when he had mentioned how he gets stuck in his thoughts sometimes. Krav is only trying to help.

“Obviously not.” Taako flicks the closer ear into his boi’s face for closer inspection. “Her’s aren’t nearly as long as mine. Completely different.”

“But that means you’re also an e̢͟l̷͝f҉͟, right?”

Taako raises his eyebrows. He could attempt to raise one, but he’s never gotten the look down without the side effect of looking constipated. “How did you do that with your mouth?”

* * *

Obviously, Taako’s forays into the ‘Prime Material Plane’ as Kravitz calls it becomes a regular thing. It’s something about the air, the feel of the dirt under his bare feet that is more comfortable than his home plane.

The first couple times, Krav leads him from one attraction to another, using actual gold and platinum coins to buy baubles when it turns out his little slips of paper and plastic won’t cut it. They’re all romantic things. Glass baubles with what looks like a galaxy inside hanging from silver loops to pierce into ears. Strolls along the Sword Coast with the sun red on the water. Chilly adventures to snowy mountaintops to take in the crisp air and watch the evergreen forest below come alive. A night of throwing pottery and drinking wine.

His magic is also easier to figure out, with not having to worry about collateral damage or witch hunts.

That would be bad.

Now though, with a stone of far-speech on a strip of leather around his neck and clothes to blend in as much as his sense of fashion allows, his boi drops him off for a couple days he has off. His phone doesn’t work this far away from cell towers, and there’s no point when he doesn't have anything to charge the thing. Taako’s had a hard time making friends for the last couple of years. It’s mostly superficial fans or just professional regard from his coworkers. Tulip is probably the one who is the closest to a friend, though he can’t remember why he went to her in the first place. Something about a previous psych-man who couldn't handle him?

Taako is also not a fan of getting more tangles around his person, thank you.

Speaking of the tangles he’s got though, Taako fingers the blue strands thoughtfully as he eyes the different directions they’re pointing. It explains why on the Plane of Thought they were bunched together and jerked randomly. He was on the wrong plane. Now?

Well, Taako hitches his bag higher, and starts on the trail before him. Now, he’s going to find these people.

He looks up to the overcast sky, his eyes following two deep blue strands into the clouds. “You two better be flying. Alternate planes of existence is enough for me. I will scream into the void if you’re aliens.” He mutters grumpily.

* * *

His first stop, if he can do more than one before Kravitz pops him back, is Raven’s Roost. At least that’s how he mapped it out the previous times he’s been around.

Except there are no strings pointing in that direction now. He still goes to check it out. Ya know, ask a few questions, get a drink, commission something romantic and charming for Krav as a surprise. A hair charm maybe?

What he gets instead is a disaster. He rushes when he sees smoke from the distance, and doesn’t hesitate to start helping the sooty and weary survivors. Taako may be a dick but he's not heartless.

The name “Kalen” moves as freely as the curses surrounding it through the groups. Taako doesn’t involve himself in that, instead asking where next he should use what little he has grasped of his magic. They point him from one pile of ruble to another, then to a stretch of land where there are others already digging graves.

Taako doesn’t have a spell for that, so he takes one of the shovels being handed out, and starts digging.

The shovel is very well crafted. The edges on the head are sharp and strong. The handle fits well in his hand. The shaft even has intricate carvings, using the varying depths as its own color.

At the end, with those who didn’t make it buried, and some of the survivors carving at the headstones, Taako sits back with the shovel across his lap. A woman, human, limps past his spot, and he calls out to her.

She’s got a flickering blue string from her throat, and a red string from her hand pointing into the distance. The band of yellow is thick and half flickering.

Taako pats the ground next to him invitingly. She doesn’t take the offer, but that’s fine. He hefts the shovel in his lap. “Who do I pay to keep this? This is a damn good shovel.”

She snorts, looking surprised she managed the sound. “Uh, they’re not here. I can pass it along to them?” She pauses for a brief moment before her face twists like she’s swallowing something bitter. “If you want to donate to help us out, it’d be really appreciated.”

Huh, proud but sensible. He can respect that.

Taako pulls out his money pouch and gives most of his platinum to the wide-eyed human with a grin.

Best reaction.

She looks frozen with that little pile of coins in her open palms. He’ll have to hustle a few more lords and ladies out of their snooty cash before his next stop if he wants to take the train instead of walking over a mountain.

Or he can save his next stop for next time. Either way, Taako is about done with this place. Things are wrapping up here; people are looking like they’re about to leave. He needs a shower, and sleep for a week.

He gets to his feet, using the shovel as leverage given the lack of steady handholds. “Well, I guess now that last order of business is done, I should get going.” He’s already past her when he throws a wave over his shoulder. “Bye then.”

A few of the other people wave at him as he leaves, but his leaving is unobstructed. Good it’s half a day until the next town, and Taako wants to get there before dark.

* * *

He manages to get enough dough to buy a train ticket by the time he reaches the train station. It’s not first class like he wanted, but at least he isn’t going to have to hoof it over a mountain.

And it turns out he might as well have bought first class with how sparse the other travelers in his cabin are.

There’s a few who look like traders of various races occupying the food cart. Then there's a huge book obscuring most of a kid with a hat too many sizes too big hiding most of the rest. Probably the kid of one of the traders.

Dismissing the lot, Taako sweeps onto one of the benches, idly transfiguring the wood under his tush to a more comfortable material. It would be a few hours before the train gets to Rockport, and Taako would still have a distance to go before he reaches his next destination.

Someone is watching him.

He looks up from the things in his bag to see wide eyes magnified by round glasses that don’t quite fit his face.

“Hey there fella.” He says to the kid peeking over the back of the bench across from him. “I know I’m fabulous and all, but it's impolite to stare.”

“Sorry sir.” The boy says bashfully, and Taako watches him round the bench to sit on the other side. He leans forward like he’s sharing a secret. “But you do know it’s illegal to transmute property that doesn’t belong to you?”

Taako didn’t. He hasn’t made it much of his business to study the dos and don’ts of the plane. But he really should have figured that there would be rules for magic.

Kinda like how he’s not supposed to impair or go against the cycle of life and death, or else Kravitz would break up with him. Oh yeah, and hunt him down and lock him up in the Eternal Stockade.

#priorities

Taako leans forward in return to whisper. “Tell you what, kiddo. You don’t tattle, and I’ll set you up with a comfy spot. I’ll even turn them back before we leave.”

The kid ponders the offer for a bit, scrunching up his face with the equivalent cuteness of all puppy videos combined, before nodding. That serious face of his looks more like a pout, but Taako isn’t going to tell him that. “Deal. I’m Angus, who are you?”

“I’m Taako, from YouTube.”

* * *

Taako was almost horrified to find the beginning of a tether of orange coming from his naval by the end of his train ride. Almost, because his emotions are a little tied up with shock and surprise.

Seriously? That fast?

Taako eyes Angus gathering his own things, and the way the orange fades to a navy blue to attach to the kid’s throat.

Damn, Taako wouldn’t be around enough to take care of the kid if he needed it. Unless he took the brat with him…

Tempting, but he’d first have to get through any other guardians the kid has, and then convince Krav to take a second passenger.

Looks like Taako is just going to keep an eye on the brat when he’s in the neighborhood.

He gathers his own things up, and disembarks from the train, his little magic trick reversing when he gets far enough away.

* * *

Taako doesn’t make it to the Sword Coast before he needs to make an appearance back at work to pay for the bills. He should also ask Krav out to dinner when he drops him off.

He’s been meaning to try Mexican for the longest time, but something has always come up. His fellow chefs don’t bother to poke fun at him for having the name, but never having tried the stuff.

Taako makes up for it with Italian takeout when it turns out there’s a group that rented out the place he wanted to take Kravitz to.

This is what happens when restaurants have good Yelp reviews.

Taako leads Kravitz to the couch, handling the little food containers as he summons some proper cutlery. He is not going to put up with flimsy plastic when gravity has a chance of staining his couch.

“Which are we playing tonight then?”

Taako thinks over what he has, and grins. “You hear about that video game that’s crazy popular?”

He turns around just in time to catch the tail end of a smirk on Krav’s face. “The same one you’ve been telling me about non-stop these last few months? No. Absolutely no clue what you’re on about.”

Taako passes the food and a controller into his guy’s hands. “Hush. And get ready to be wrecked.”

Kravitz peruses the different characters, looking at the options before continuing on to look at the others. Taako has already picked his character, and is good and ready for a little one-on-one. “I’ll be right back.” He gets up from the couch, pushing the things that were on his lap to the. “Gonna get us a drink.”

He’s in the kitchen mixing some liquors together when Krav calls slyly, “Hey, I pressed start for both of us.” And he has to drop everything to get back to his controller.

“Dude, you could have asked before you shot us into a fight.” Taako eyeballs the screen. Sombra verses Reaper, huh? Oh yeah. Cha boi is _so_ going to win this.

After the first round, Krav laughs sheepishly. “I’m not that good at this one.” And he changes. To Winston. Taako has a harder time winning, but it’s still him in the winner’s circle. And then Kravitz changes his character over to Mercy.

Which, kind of makes him giggle considering the dude is a Reaper, and Mercy goes against all that Krav does as his day-job.

And Taako gets slaughtered.

 _“WHAT THE SHIT!”_ Taako tries to keep it down, but it’s really not happening here. Taako is gonna get noise complaints tomorrow. _“WHAT THE ACTUAL_ FUCK?!?” Taako has been mastering using Sombra since she was released. How did he lose so badly? To _Mercy_??

Kravitz leans back with a smug grin on his face. The controller in his hand resting easily in a limp grip. Taako takes one look at this, and glares.

“You played me.” It was an observation and a threat in one. Kravitz only smiles wider.

Well, there’s only one way to solve that.

Taako leans in, and kisses that thug’s smug look off his face.

Dinner is cold by the time they get back to eating.

* * *

A lot of stuff happens over the next year and a half. Krav is more busy, gone for weeks before slumping exhaustedly into their bed and Taako later guiding him to a bubble bath.

His own popularity skyrockets once he kicks his sponsors to the curb, and he’s got a string of plaques hanging across from his kitchen. Silver, gold, and diamond are displayed in their frames, and he’s really proud of them. He's got his eye on ruby next, but that is going to take some time. Work is also kicking up, since a few of the other chefs got caught slipping a few bills under the table. Taako proved that he could handle more hours, and the owner hasn’t gotten around to replacing the help. So Taako is usually at work six days a week.

He’s had to change his schedule with Tulip to one a month on the odd morning he has free.

Taako doesn’t have nearly enough time to go adventuring in the Prime Material Plane, especially if he is trying to track down moving targets. So he mostly rings up Boy Wonder, and asks if he wants some company. Usually, Angus will say yes, and they’ll kick it on the beach practicing magic, or in some kitchen Taako has an agreement to cook the orders in exchange for the space and use of the materials. Ango’s grandad kicked the bucket at some point, and Taako has been trying to get a read on where the kid is staying, but Boichick is staying mum on that one.

Taako pretends that he’s not worried his strings are usually pointing up into the sky whenever he visits. But he’s always been a bad liar. Especially to himself.

Today is not one of those adventure days. Taako is, in fact, on his way to work. Following that trail of green he has forged over many a year.

And he doesn’t know what hit him. The world is bleaker, and the sky has turned dark even though the sun is _right there_ \- focus. Taako rolls with the hit, exhaling with the collision of the pavement. There are screams and sounds of cars colliding, and metal being ripped to pieces.

Taako gets to his feet, his hands busy at his neck to call Kravitz. He would know what’s happening, right?

Except it won’t connect. It stays lifeless in his hand.

He feels the wind whistle, and he ducks out of the way. His hair is all messed up, and his ears are on full alert and in full view. He jumps and he dodges the best he can.

Taako ends up pinned in a parking lot, and he starts using his magic just to get some breathing room. Not that it helps that much. He only knows lame-ass tricks and medium range AOE attacks.

A food truck opens, and there’s a hand held out to him, and he takes it. Though he’s a bit slow to respond, given there’s shining light wafting on the notes of a song pouring a story into his head.

One that he is very familiar with.


	2. Chapter 2

Taako doesn't know when he first started seeing red lines. He knows he's had the ability before he and Lup were shipped from one home to another, and he figured out what they meant by then too.

Fuckin’ soulmates.

Like, its good that Lup has one? Or is going to have one, considering hers fades out just a little ways away from her pinky. But him? Taako’s can’t seem to make up its mind.

Sometimes it fades out like Lup’s, then the next moment it stretches out into the sky, and then plummets into the ground below.

Taako doesn’t know what he’s going to do if or when he meets his soulmate, but he’s sure as hell gonna give them a piece of his mind for all the whiplash.

* * *

Taako is sometimes convinced that he’s delusional. Lup doesn’t see them, and that’s reason enough to know something is wrong with him. He hasn’t mentioned them, somehow always getting sidetracked whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Lup came out right. Taako-

_Taako didn’t._

He’s not really supposed to be thinking about that stuff though. He worries Lup when he gets down, and they only rely on each other out on the road. He needs to be as steady as he can so they don’t mess up big time and end up stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Which might have happened too many times for them to be more than prepared when they get the boot a few months later in a mountainous pass.

Lup rants and bitches just long enough for the troupe to be out of sight and ear-shot before sharing a grin with Taako. “I got half their food. You?”

Taako flips a lock of errant hair back over his shoulder. A flash of red in his eyes almost makes him flinch, but he resists the urge after years and years (and years and years) of practice. ”The Headman had the heaviest coin purse,” He says starting to juggle two clinking leather pouches. “So I stole his and his lady friend’s.”

Lup cackles, and they both settle in for the long haul to the second closest town.

* * *

Lup’s line has formed. Holy shit.

Taako thought it was never going to happen.

He nudges their wandering direction to follow the little line wrapped snugly around Lup’s pinky. It only solidified the other day, and Taako can’t wait to judge the fucker.

And then Lup gets distracted with magical university, and won’t budge for all he’s worth. So Taako shrugs, and piles on the magic along with her. Because, hey, _magic_!

* * *

It takes him until an accident during one of his magical experiments to realize if there are red lines, why can’t there be others?

He wakes up to a healer pulling their hands away, his professor leaning over him on one side, and Lup on the other.

She’s holding one of his hands in both of hers, but Taako is distracted by the indigo wisp of color curled into itself wrapping around to touch at their backs. He sees in the periphery her distressed eyes trying to follow where he’s looking. He can tell that she doesn’t see anything, and he shoves the delusions into the unimportant pot on the backburner.

“Lulu, don’t let me do that again. Even if it means I get crazy supervision or something lame like that.” His voice feels grungy, and his mouth tastes faintly of key lime.

And then he lets himself drop back into darkness. And no. He doesn’t pass out. He falls asleep. There’s a difference!

_(Shut up Lup!)_

* * *

It feels like Taako went through his life up to this point in shades of grey and bright red.

Holy shit. He knows he thought this before, but it bears repeating. Seriously. _Holy shit._

Lup doesn’t leave him alone for days, steering him away from lampposts and buildings whenever he gets distracted by a stream of color.

Taako knows what red means, but what do the other colors mean?

* * *

Bonds. They’re all bonds.

Taako feels like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop at this revelation, and he gets it.

Something bright falls from the sky, and all of the sudden inspiration springs up _everywhere._ Discoveries and inventions pop up like daisies, and both Lup and Taako get caught up in the tide.

Taako gets his first glimpse of Lup’s soulmate between tangles and knots of the rainbow when they apply for some interdimensional travel for a few months.

And he’s a human, already pretty fuckin’ old, and he doesn’t want to think about what that means for Lup in a few decades. Nothing good, that’s for certain.

The threads are all wishy-washy and thin as hell. Taako has to remind himself that these lines of color are intangible, and won’t break if he walks through them. Has to force himself to not flinch when he sees his hand wave through it when he gets a little too excited about the current topic.

Lup gives him concerned looks when he flinches at nothing. She even sat him down at one point when they were kids, though he can’t remember how that one turned out. Hopefully good, since she didn’t bring it up after that.

And still, his own red line tied to his own pinky can’t make up its mind where his fool is.

(He wants to pretend he doesn’t know where the end of his line leads. But he’s always been too smart to fool himself for long.)

* * *

Taako doesn’t know what to do when he finds someone else with a red line that jumps about just as often as his does.

The same direction as his does.

So what does he do?

Absolutely nothing.

Taako hangs back as Lup chatters with this human fighter. This big, beefy, _man_ beef named Magnus Burnsides. In charge of their security on their little voyage. He hangs back as they talk about what they expect to find on this extra-planar adventure.

He also sees, and tries not to see, a line of yellow friendship wrap around their dominant wrists. It’s already a band of strong color, and it waters his eyes when he looks at it for too long. Damn that happened fast,

Actually, Taako takes a gander at Magnus’s wrist to see it flooded with yellow. It stretches out in all directions, and he spies a few reaching out to the other crew members already hired out for this trip.

Including one Barry Bluejeans. Whom Taako has absolutely no knowledge or information on whatsoever. For sure doesn’t know the little nerd was one of the researchers who helped build and test the bond engine. Taako definitely doesn’t know about how Barold came from a big, loving family out in the country.

Or how he’s sending most of his salary back to his family to keep afloat. How the fuckin’ dude has set up a life insurance for his mum to collect if he doesn’t come back from this expedition. Can he get anything to dislike the guy on? Some seedy night of debauchery? Kicked a bunny? Refused to save a kitten from a tree. (Taako has seen the exact opposite, and grudgingly gives the point to mister Bluejeans on that front.)

Hell, the worst he could dig up is that fact that this guy never cooks, and for good reason. Barrold has no skills in the kitchen, and probably would be better off trying to cook in the bathroom where the shower could put out any sudden fires.

Taako moves on before he can put himself into a foul mood. He’s supposed to be friendly and all that for this little meet-and-greet shindig.

The medic is already reaching out little tethers of orange to the rest of the crew, which is nice, you know, since that’s the nurturing color or some shit. Taako’s seen that mostly from healers and parents, so that’s at least what he hopes is what’s going on. Taako takes a look down at the dwarf’s feet to see green tendrils rooting with every step, clinging to the legs of the snack table and wrapping lovingly around the armchair he settles into.

The journalist, or whatever, the writer. Yeah that was it. She’s pretty wrapped in herself, not that many bonds reaching out. A few yellows, and one or two purple from her forehead doing the jerking about like his and Magnus’s red lines, though they don’t line up like theirs. Taako doesn’t know what to do with this information, aside from blame it on of the Gods up there for another fuck-up.

Boss-man-captain-port hasn’t been by yet, but Taako’s seen him around. That gnome has just about all his rainbow colors attached to something related to the IPRE, and Taako would think he could control them if attaching so many bonds to one thing could end in anything other than disaster.

* * *

Taako’s first reaction to being remade of bonds would have been a panic attack if Lup hadn’t been holding his hand. Instead, he makes a sarcastic remark that gets a smack to the back of his head. He saves the panic attack for an hour later when the rest of the crew are going through their own first-hand experience of the Hunger getting the Light of Creation.

Taako curls tighter into himself behind one of the supply crates, pressing his hand harder against his mouth to suppress his whimpering.

That… Taako may be good at lying to himself, but this is one thing he would not believe himself. That wasn’t good. That was horrible, and painful, and too bright, and too many colors.

Taako got a good look at what he was made of, and he doesn’t like it.

His eyes track the red line from his hand, and tries to calm himself down before Lup comes looking for him.

It’s not Lup who finds him, but Davenport after a day or two. (Kind of hard to tell the time in a room with no windows.) And it’s pretty obvious that he was looking for him. “Taako,” the captain calls from the door, “May I come in?” How did Taako miss the door opening? It makes the _whoosh_ noise loud enough to wake him up normally. How far was he in his head?

Taako lets out a silent, shuddering, breath. “Yeah, not my room, dude. It’s a free space and all that shit.”

He doesn’t get a response, but when he opens his eyes, the gnome is leaning against the crate next to him with a dark glass bottle and two ceramic mugs. He takes the drink with a nod, and… it feels nice. Just sitting, knocking one back with someone in silence.

When he is able to look away from the far wall, he’s not even surprised by the strand of blue weaving between them.

“Why did you push for his expedition?” Taako finally asks. He knows its a personal question, just from how many bonds Dav has invested in all of this, but he can’t think of anything else when a rainbow starts pressing itself into his eyelids.

There’s a sigh, and the clink of a mug being set down. “My parents came up with the theory of other planar systems. They were up on the first ship that went out.” There is a beat of silence that Taako takes to look at the other’s face, and it’s steady. Resigned.

“They didn’t come back.” He finishes, and Dav nods with pursed lips. The gnome takes up his mug again.

“I wanted to prove their theory right.”

Taako drinks from his own mug. “I see things.” He states after a fortifying gulp. Dav shoots him a look, but Taako continues on before the lecture goes on to cover dementia. “Kinda like a seer, but not really? Anyway, the bond engine really threw me for a loop. I’m okay now. Totally aces. Thanks for checking on me.”

“Taako.” Oh dear, that’s Dav’s Captain Voice of Discipline. ‘Cha boi’s in tro~o~ouble. “Explain. What are you seeing? Because if the bond engine is knocking you out of the game days after everyone resets, we should be trying to figure out a way around it. We need everyone at one hundred percent from touchdown.”

Taako scratches at the blue weave starting at his throat. He takes another gulp, and doesn’t taste it as it goes down. “What else can a bond engine fuck with? Bonds, my dude, I see bonds. I had my eyes open, so to speak, when we got taken apart and remade. I’ll see if closing my eyes works next time, okay?”

Davenport’s faces looks like a tie between a grimace and a wince. “I- right. And you would have told me if the bond engine was malfunctioning even if you didn’t tell me about your… sight?”

Taako shrugs. “I might have been hanging around since it was first built. It’s about as sound as it can be. Stronger, probably, since we’re moving onto stronger bonds, and we’re what’s powering the thing.” He can’t help rubbing at his throat again, and Dav follows his hand with his eyes.

“Something wrong with your neck?” He asks, sounding a touch worried, and Taako watches the other end of the blue weaving stronger and thicker to the captain’s own throat. He still can’t touch them, but he can feel them ever so slightly. A wisp of smoke, a trail of a silk ribbon, a thin ray of sun, a feather brushing down its path, a string held taught, knotted roots below his feet.

Where there are a couple of other blue weaves trailing off in different directions on the Starblaster. “Nope. Just haven’t had this bond before.” Taako gets up, helping Davenport tidy up, and head out the _whooshing_ door together. He only had the red line before that one accident, and he’s been kind of busy since then. Lup is his indigo, his one and only indigo, and he is hers.

“And what’s that?” Taako just knows that Dav’s going to be on this topic for a good long while. The gnome sounds disinterested, but his tiny body language is telling a whole other story. Even his ears are perking at attention.

It’s just that it’s going to sound so corny when he says it, and he has a reputation to uphold, damnit!

He still wants to say it though. Taako’ll blame it on those huge gnomish eyes batting imploringly at him if anyone asks. And then deny the event ever happened the next minute.

Taako coughs into his hand, feeling heat rise all the way to the tips of his ears.

Man this is embarrassing.

“Family.”

He turns on the ball of his foot immediately after to escape down the other hallway. Taako still hears the chuckle behind him with his elven ears, but nope.

All of this didn’t happen.

_Nope!_

* * *

They’re dodging the Hunger again. Taako can’t find a moment peaceful enough to remember which cycle they’re on, and honestly? That kind of information is only depressing, so why bother?

What matters is the Hunger is on their ass, and the bond engine just took a hit. A glancing one, thanks to Davenport’s piloting, but still enough to send Barry back to see if there is any way to fix it.

They’ve got the Light of Creation, which is why it’s taking so much time to escape to the next cycle, and also what is holding them up. And they’re losing speed. It’s not very obvious, but the turns are getting rougher to compensate dodging more strikes from the inky darkness.

“Taako!” Davenport barks, and he feels his spine snap straight. “You’ve got until the next cycle to do whatever you can to the bond engine. Everyone else! If dancing around isn’t going to work, then we’ll brute force our way out!” There’s a vicious crow from Magnus, and Taako shouts over the tail end of it.

“I’ll need Lup to give us a boost!” He’s already dragging his sister out when he hears an affirmative from their captain.

“Since when have you been a bond specialist?” Lup asks, shooting fire into the sky to protect the Starblaster from the heavy blackness above.

Taako doesn’t assist, leading them to the rear deck to find Barry elbow-deep in wires. Good. He’s still alive. “I’m not. I’m a fucking matchmaker.” He gets equal looks of disbelief and fear. Oh good, they know what’s coming. This is what they get for confessing their crushes to him and lamenting the other’s disinterest.

“Lup, Barry like _likes_ you. Barry, my sister has record-breaking crush levels on you. You’re both fucking blind to have not noticed the longing looks and wistful stares.” He pushes Lup closer to Barry. “There. You two go figure yourselves out. Try not to get us all killed.” He waves at them dismissively.

It only works because he’s successfully blindsided them into only having eyes for the other at the moment, so that leaves him alone with the bond engine.

He looks up (and up, and up, and up, and damn this thing is big) at the smoke trailing out from the ring. Taako squints his eyes. No. That’s not smoke.

The Hunger is fucking munching on their bonds. Holy shit. Not good.

He pops up there, first thing, and blasts the hungry hungry Hunger out of the paneling. Then checks the damage. “Hachi Machi.” Taako mumbles. That’s a lot of damage. Roots ravaged and lines severed and bands frayed. It’s almost too much to look at. Something in his head is pounding at the sight.

He doesn’t know what to do.

A red line pulses in the mass of colors. It used to be warped and hanging by a tether, but it somehow came back. Right, somehow. Taako leans over the edge to spot a make-out session in progress.

Right. That won’t fix the rest of the bonds. So Taako goes all in.

Mostly.

He reaches deep into the light, and tries his best to grip at something, anything, and connect it with its other half.

Taako can’t feel his arms. He can’t tell if what he’s doing is working, and he left his back unprotected to the forces of the Hunger as it descends on him.

But that’s what a sister is for, right? That’s what their indigo wisps mean, right? They’ll always have each other’s back. No matter what.

A ball of fire just misses him in catching a shadowy shape in the side, knocking it away and down to the plane below.

Taako spares a look to his sister, and why are they so dim? She’s holding Barry’s hand, and they’re working together to keep the ring clear of more Hunger monstrosities.

“You couldn’t have mentioned this before?” Lup is calling out in cheerful greeting. Taako is having a hard time focusing on more than the bright bonds working their way back together.

They’re gaining altitude, which is nice. It means they’re leaving. Which means his time is running out. The bond engine needs to be fixed before things can be reset. He doesn’t know what would happen if he can’t finish in time. Would someone not come back? Would someone be forgotten?

Taako can’t think about this, he needs to keep fixing the bonds. Damnit, Taako’s not a fixer, but he’s flawless, and he’s going to _make_ what he does perfect. No one else has a say in the matter. Case closed.

He closes his eyes. “Pull me out before we reset.” He says as loud as he can, not knowing if it was a quiet as a murmur or as loud as a shout, and he plunges his upper half into numbness.

And he doesn’t remember what he did after that.

Taako knows he succeeded, which is great, and that he got the lecture of a lifetime for recklessness from his sister. Along with not spilling everyone’s crushes as soon as they’re shared with him.

Yeah, he didn’t get that one either.

Another event of note is that his messing with the bond engine also directly messed with his supersight.

As in, they leave visible traces on him now. Merle doesn’t know what to do with the impressions that ring his wrist and pinky or the slight bumps on his spine, naval, and throat. All of them are barely noticeable, but Merle has been fixing this hot bod for more than a few decades to notice any differences.

Well, at least he’s got physical proof that the bond things are more than a sign of his mental instability.

Taako got a rather pointed nod at his throat from Davenport, and nope! Taako is feeling well enough to chase the damn gnome out of his room with a hail of pillows and blankets. His captain is cackling as he speeds out, and he’s just glad that Lup isn’t there to question the heat in his ears and cheeks. Or why Dav got sent out so quickly after he showed up.

Taako slumps back into his bed. Damn he’s tired. He’ll rest his eyes for a moment. Just a moment.

There’s a throat cleared at his door, and damn, he needs to put a bell on all the doors so he’s not caught unaware again. Taako recognizes the forced cough, and he doesn’t want to deal with this right now.

“Go ‘way, Barry.” Taako’s throat is waaayy to dry. He blindly reaches out to find the cup of water Lup left for him.

A rough and leathered hand guides his own to the cool glass. Taako takes small sips.

“How did you do that?” Barry asks, and Taako finally opens his eyes to see Barry sitting in the chair next to his bed. “The bond engine is running better than we could make it go on optimal conditions back on-.”

Barry looks as tired as Taako, and the elf can imagine the human spending all this time since the reset trying to research how Taako dicking around directly with the bonds repaired it. Nobody wants to mention their home plane after watching it get consumed by the Hunger.

Taako doesn’t want to look at the green roots from everyone’s feet flickering to wherever the Hunger is now. He tries to ignore how the green grows thicker with every plane consumed. It helps that the Starblaster has slowly been wrapped in different shades of green over the years.

“I was banking on the corniness of love being the most powerful source of energy of all time. Aside from that, I’ve got no clue, homie. ‘Cha boi just rummaged around until things stopped bitching and moaning.”

Barry nods, and nods. He’s got his hand tucked away under his arms, and eventually the human nods until he nods off.

Taako gives him an unimpressed look even if he’s not aware of it, and gets up to wrap a blanket around Lup’s dork.

* * *

Taako doesn’t know where he is.

There is a woman, standing tall, leading him to an impossibly high building. Introducing him to a nice man. Karl, or something like that. Leading him to another building, and telling him this is his home.

Taako eyes her feet, then his, and doesn’t believe her. There’s not nearly enough green for this tiny place, she called it an apartment, to be home.

She gets him a job at a restaurant, Olive Garden or something, and tells him to be happy.

Fuck that shit.

Taako goes out, makes a bet with a semi-snooty guy at a bar, and ends up one of the spare chefs for an exclusive restaurant within the week. Working two nights a week is enough to upgrade his apartment to a roomier, sleeker apartment a few blocks down the road. He dumps Karl for his inability to take a joke, and looks up another psychiatrist.

There’s one on Craigslist, someone starting up their own practice, and relatively cheap. He calls, and has an appointment set for that Tuesday.

He’s getting his life together, though he knows with the way his skin tugs by barely there strings, that he is not where he is supposed to be.


	3. Chapter 3

Taako slumps into the youngin’ that let him into the food truck. He cracks an eye, and sees a laptop open on the counter, paused at the character selection menu.

“Wow, Genji main, huh?” The teen splutters. But Taako is a bit preoccupied taking inventory.

Also trying to figure out a way to get to where the rest of his family is- oh shit. Angus. Is he okay? Kravitz? If someone takes off on the Starblaster, they’ll be left behind.

Taako doesn’t know if he could handle that.

“Right.” Taako lets himself stand to his full height. He observes the kid with the flame design on the apron.

He’s also got a matching line of purple to yours truly. It doesn’t connect, from what he can tell, but they’ve both shown up as soon as Taako stepped in, tangling around handles of pots hanging from the walls and around ingredients left during the upheaval of the Hunger arriving.

He eyes just what the bond is circling, before rolling his eyes. He’s been searching to have his first fucking taco for more than a decade, and this bond is telling him to make it _now_ of all times?

“Right.” He says again, nabbing an apron. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Joaquin. You’re- holy shit, you’re from the story.” Joaquin says with awe. Which is his usual response, but he can’t really appreciate it at the moment.

“Sure am. I’m also on YouTube. Still, and I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but stick with me. Will you make a taco with me?”

One good thing about fans. They’ll ridiculous things with you if only for the chance of bragging rights later.

The power up is a nice touch.

Joaquin takes care of the Hunger outside. Taako heads over to an empty patch of parking lot, and drops his hands to the ground.

He’s the best Transmutation Wizard out there, and the fucking Hunger has nothing on him.

The ground around him changes, and it feels like he’s falling.

* * *

He’s still kneeling, but he’s in the middle of nowhere with forests farther than his elf eyes can see. Well, except for one of the Gauntlet’s Glassings a bit of a ways away. But he’s definitely in the right plane. His family can take care of themselves.

No, he’s not going to think about his sister. She’s still around if she knows what’s good for her. He can fuckin track her down if need be, but he doesn’t want to do it just yet. Lup can wait a little longer.

Kravitz can take care of himself for a bit more before he springs him from the Astral Plane.

There’s one little brat that can’t be pushed back. The call connects. “Ango? Come on, Bud. You better still be alright or I’m cutting off the Hunger from any and all Snickers for the rest of forever.”

There’s a commotion of shouting, but it’s background noise to Angus McDonald’s voice. “Taako! How are you calling? I thought you would have been stuck in the Plane of Thought.”

“You _thought_ wrong if you believed that I was going to leave my boy alone during an apocalypse.” He also recognized those voices.

“Hey kiddo? Max out the volume for a bit? I need to yell at people.” He hears a giggle, and can’t help the smile and warm feeling in his chest at the sound. After a beat of waiting, he shouts, “HELLO CHUCKLEFUCKS AND BONER-DICKS! TAAKO’S BACK IN TOWN, SO QUIT YOUR BITCHIN’ AND LISTEN TO HIS PLAN TO TAKE DOWN THE HUNGER.”

* * *

Taako’s next order of business is Kravitz. And what do you know? Conveniently shaped and surfaced material, just change the rock, and voilà!

Taako ignores the beast towering above that got dragged along when he went about summoning his boyfriend. Instead he kisses Kravitz.

When they pull back, he has a comment waiting. “I missed you.”

“Me too. Next time we’re back at your place we can play more video games, right?” Kravitz sneaks another kiss in.

“Of course, I’m going to beat you and you will rue the day you ever thought of practicing behind my back.” Then he teleports them and the beast to where he’s got a lock on everyone.

Over Phandalin. Or what used to be Phandalin.

Well, that explains why he had a hard time finding that bookstore again.

There are a few shrieks of surprise at their sudden arrival, but the beast above gets to work rather than lollygag. Its like watching a twisted version of Pacific Rim. The Beast against the Judge.

Krav is already leaning to follow, but Taako has a firm grip on his hand. “Be careful, yeah?”

Taako feels chilly lips press to the crown of his head. “Always.”

Taako lets him go, and then flies up to find the rest of his family.

The moon. Really?

Why does everyone he know have to be so extremely dramatic?

Taako chuckles to himself.

Kettle, meet pot.

* * *

**Epilogue** **:**

There's a bit of a disagreement over custody of a certain boy detective. Taako isn't surprised his boi managed to worm his way into so many hearts.

But still. Taako saw him first. Lup wants him, but she can't have him. Even Magnus and (holy shit, he thought he recognized that lady during the fight) Julia are interested. Taako has called dibs.

"No seriously, he's my kid." He gets a few disbelieving stares from his opposition. Sure, Ango isn't his flesh and blood, but that doesn't matter. He also is probably more open than they were used to, but the Plane of Thought was good for him in that respect at least. "I at least met Grandpa."

Angus, who is trying very hard to not listen, reading his book at the other end of the room, perks up. "What? When was that?" The kid abandons his book at the table to get closer to the conversation. Taako preens under the sour looks, and combs his fingers through his kid's hair. It get way too tangled for hat hair.

"You brought him along on that one case. The one about the head in a crystal ball?" Angus gives a little 'oh' noise. "We had a chat while you were out that last night. Good guy. Better charmer."

Merle, who's mostly there just to make sure there's no cheating or lying, asks. "So what was the guy's name? The brat gave us some round about answer before, but we never got a name."

"Hmm? Everyone just called him Grandpa. There was a joke that it was forgotten a couple years back-what?" He stops at the incredulous stares to demand, but he doesn't get an answer. Taako leans forward until he's looking upside down at Angus. "What'd I say?"

* * *

In the end, Angus chooses to move in with him to the Plane of Thought, with frequent visits back to the Prime Material Plane. Taako has a feeling that Angus is aiming for becoming the best detective in all the planes. He's rooting for him.

Kravitz manages to come home most nights, with the workload spread between three. 

They still make it an event to do something special every Valentine's Day.

Taako is living his life, making videos, spending time with his family and loved ones.

Taako is happy.

**Author's Note:**

> I HOPE YOU LIKED IT!!! 
> 
> (Sorry I went over the word limit.)


End file.
